A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, reported by the Associated Press, found that amateur athletes (and by extension, victims of work injuries in PA), who have torn the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in their knee, actually do better by trying to rehab the knee before trying the surgical route.
According to the article, less than half of those in the study needed the ACL surgically repaired within two years. It appears the rehabilitation, alone, was enough in those cases.
“It seems that if you start out with rehabilitation only … you have a good chance of ending up with an equally good outcome as if you had early ACL surgery,” said Richard Frobell, of Lund University Hospital in Sweden, an author of the work.
While all situations in medicine are different, depending on the particular patient, and other factors, this article certainly suggests that an injured worker with an ACL tear should be in no rush to undergo surgery on his or her knee.